


Intervention

by batneko



Series: Laserbox AU [2]
Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Laserblast's awkward villain!crush, Laserbox AU, M/M, can you BELIEVE there was not already a tag for Rippy, this is a travesty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batneko/pseuds/batneko
Summary: It was only a matter of time before Laserblast’s teammates realized something weird was going on with him and Boxman…
Relationships: Lord Boxman/Professor Venomous
Series: Laserbox AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677322
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	Intervention

The first sign that something was wrong was when Laserblast ran into Carol in the elevator. She was dressed down, a loose shirt and athletic leggings, the kind of thing she wore at home with K.O. And if she was here and K.O. wasn't…

“Sparks?” he said, blurting out the first idiotic thing that popped into his head. “Did I forget what day it is?”

He’d been better about that lately. Still wasn’t getting enough sleep, but K.O. was old enough now to realize when he was late.

“No,” Carol said, stepping to the side to let him in. “It’s only Thursday.”

Panic shot through him. “Did something happen? Where’s K.O.? Is he-”

“He’s fine, everything’s fine,” Carol said. He wouldn’t have been able to hold back his annoyance at a question like that, but Carol masked whatever she was feeling with practiced ease. “I was called in for a meeting, so I got a sitter.”

“Oh.” A normal, logical situation. So why were there still alarm bells ringing in his head? “I didn’t hear about a meeting.”

“Didn’t you?” Carol looked surprised too, which wasn’t a good sign. “I was told it was all hands.”

Bad sign. Very bad sign. The metaphorical alarm bells were drowning out the hum of the elevator as they went down into the sub-basements.

“I’m… supposed to be on monitor duty,” Laserblast said, absently. He still had a few minutes before it was time. Showing up early was a good way to pretend he was still invested in even something as asinine as waiting by the phone.

“Maybe they’ll fill you in later.”

“Mm.”

He didn’t buy it. Slowly but surely, he and Greyman had been phased out of the core of the group. True, he was splitting his time between hero work, research, and his days with K.O., but he knew that wouldn’t have made a difference three years ago. It wouldn’t have mattered if he still had powers.

The doors opened and let them both out on the third level down. The monitor room was right next to the elevator bay, for faster mobilization, and the small room used for HQ team meetings at the far end. Laserblast gave Carol a nod as he turned toward the next few hours of staring at screens and trying not to let his brain cells die, when he heard someone clear their throat.

“Laserblast.” It was Greyman, standing in the mouth of the hallway with Foxtail and Rippy behind him. All three looked serious. “Glad I caught you. You should really come to this meeting too.”

It should have been a relief, but something was still off. “I’m on monitor duty.”

“Sunshine can handle it for now.”

“Isn’t she coming to the meeting?” She was their newest hire, but if anything that would normally mean she went to all the meetings, for the experience.

“She already knows,” Foxtail said, cryptically. “Come on.”

The alarm bells had only gotten louder. It felt very much like Laserblast was walking into a trap… but if so, he was sure he’d be able to find the way out of it.

Inside, the meeting room had been set up with five folding chairs in a circle. Without Sunshine, there was one for each of them. As if it had never been the plan to invite her at all.

So not a team-building exercise then. Good. Trust falls hadn’t ended well.

“Have a seat,” Greyman said, taking his.

The others arranged themselves, and once they were all settled Laser noticed only Carol was looking at the nominal leader of their team. Foxtail, Rippy, and Greyman all had their eyes on Laserblast himself.

“This,” Greyman said, “is an intervention, Laserblast.”

The alarm bells had turned into a siren.

“For what?” Laserblast asked, at least three options popping into his head. Had they found out about his experiments? He’d cut down on the more dubious ones since his lab was here in P.O.I.N.T. HQ now, but he hadn’t been able to resist a few… live subjects. It hadn’t ended _too_ badly. At least not for him.

Or had they somehow discovered the truth about three years ago? Why call it an intervention if that was the case? Unless Carol told them about all his doubts and this was going to be some kind of motivational speech.

Or, worst of all, had they found out about Boxman?

“Your behavior toward that Boxlad,” Greyman said.

Laserblast’s stomach sank into his boots. And yet he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “It’s Lad Boxman, actually. And he’s started calling himself _Lord_ Boxman recently, which I think is-”

“Not the issue here,” Foxtail snapped. “The issue is that your actions don’t reflect well on the team.”

Laserblast gulped down a cold lump in his throat. It was only a matter of time before they’d noticed. He knew it was foolish, he knew it wasn’t heroic, and yet… “I can’t help it.”

“You can’t _help_ it?” Greyman repeated.

“I…” He’d fixed his eyes on the floor. He couldn’t stand to see what expression everyone was making now. _Especially_ not Carol. “It just… happened.”

There was a sigh, and then Foxtail spoke. “Look, I get it.”

That was a surprise. Laser glanced up, saw her lean back and fold her arms.

“I mean, it’s pretty funny. The idea of someone like _that_ getting with someone like _you._ ”

Laserblast blinked behind his visor. “What?”

“That’s why it’s _mean,_ ” Greyman said, as if it were a counter. “The way you’ve been doing it… It’s like you’re bullying him.”

“ _Bullying?_ ” Laserblast repeated. “Wait, I’m confused.”

“So am I,” Carol spoke up. “I know I haven’t been in the field with Laser lately, but bullying doesn’t sound like him.”

Foxtail sighed. “This villain Boxlad-”

“Boxman,” Laserblast muttered.

“-is more of a nuisance than anything else, but every time he shows up Laserblast goes charging in. And usually gets in over his head.”

“I’ve only been captured five times!” Laserblast exclaimed. “And I got out on my own four of those.”

“You shouldn’t have been captured at all! He’s not even worth your time!”

“ _All_ villains are worth my time. That’s what being a hero is _about!_ ”

“He’s a nobody! You’re just using him to work out your own frustrations!”

“I am not _using-_ ”

“Enough!” Greyman snapped. Sheepishly, Laser realized he’d been on the verge of jumping out of his chair, and settled back once more. “Laserblast, we’ve all gone a little too far in riling up villains before. But repeatedly fake-flirting with him to make fun of him is way over the line. It needs to stop.”

“Fake… You think it’s-” Laser snapped his mouth shut just in time.

The alarm was back. But now it was saying _No Way Out, No Way Out._

They thought he was _faking_ it. They thought he was _making fun_ of Boxman when he flirted with him. The fact that they’d noticed was bad enough – Laser had tried to make sure he was out of earshot every time, but sometimes things slipped out – but now they thought he was a _bully._

He couldn’t correct them. The truth would be worse, surely. Yet knowing that his own teammates thought so little of him was a real blow. They thought it more likely that Laserblast would target some low-ranked villain for a campaign of harassment than that he might legitimately have a crush on the guy.

“It’s… just… banter,” Laser managed. “Bantering.”

“It’s only bantering if he teased you _back,_ ” Greyman said. “He always seems annoyed by it.”

“Imagine if someone overheard you and thought you were serious,” Foxtail said, glaring at him. “Or worse, what if _he_ thought you were serious, and then when you turned him down he _snapped._ ”

“That wouldn’t happen,” Laserblast said, clenching his hands into fists. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“You don’t know, it’s always the scientist types who get all squirrely on you. They’ve got such fragile egos.”

“It wouldn’t happen!” Laser insisted. “He…” His fingernails dug into his palms. “Boxman doesn’t take me seriously anyway.”

_No Way Out No Way Out No Way Out._

“Okay,” Laserblast said, feeling hollow. “I’ll stop.”

He didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the “intervention.” There was a lot of reassurance and pretending at sympathy. Mostly he nodded.

Carol didn’t say much. Neither did Rippy, for that matter, though she’d seen him fight Boxman before and must have opinions about it. It might have been a blessing not to know.

Was this really better? They all wanted to think of him as a bully, apparently. Telling the truth would just bring up more questions, and none of those were questions Laser wanted to answer.

And yet… he did, too. He wanted to stand up and shout that none of them understood him, none of them ever _had._ Half his personality was a fraud, and _none_ of them had seen through it. The looks on their faces would almost be worth torching the reputation he’d spent his whole life building up.

He did stand up. But instead of shouting said, “Are we done here?”

There were a few exchanged glances. Foxtail shifted in her chair.

“I understand my behavior doesn’t reflect well on the team. I won’t… _harass_ Boxman any more. So that’s it, right? We’re done?”

“I… guess so,” Greyman said. “Listen, we weren’t trying to _insult_ you-”

“No, I understand. I understand _everything._ ”

Carol scooted back her chair and stood as well. “I should be getting back home, so if we’re finished?”

“We’re finished,” Greyman said. He hopped to the floor.

Laserblast didn’t wait to see what the others did. He spun on his heel and marched out of the room, turning and heading back toward the elevators. After a moment footsteps followed him, and he heard Foxtail call out.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on monitor duty?”

“Sunshine can handle it for now, right?” He shot a grin back over his shoulder, not missing the way Greyman flinched. “I’m taking the day off.”

Several people started speaking at once, and Laserblast ignored all of them and pressed the call button. The doors slid open, he stepped inside, and when he looked back Carol slipped in beside him.

“Going up?” she said with a forced smile.

He nodded. Laser stood back, allowing Carol to punch in the code for the ground floor. As the doors slid shut once again, leaving them alone, Laserblast caught a glimpse of Foxtail and Greyman leaned together in conversation, and Rippy heading in to the monitor room to do the actual work of letting their junior know what had happened.

They rode up in silence. Laser could tell Carol wanted to talk to him; she kept shifting on her feet, taking a breath before letting it out slowly, glancing to the side not quite far enough to meet his eyes.

Carol was everything Laserblast thought he wanted, once. Beautiful, supportive, enthusiastic about their shared profession. He loved her. He still loved her, in a way.

But he’d never forgotten what he heard, a second before El-Bow spotted him hiding in the pipe and alerted her. Despite all her kind words, Carol had never _really_ thought he was powerful enough.

And she’d been right.

Boxman was nothing like her. Boxman was _nothing_ a hero was supposed to find attractive. But he set Laserblast on fire in a way Carol hadn’t, not even when she inspired him to be better instead of reminding him what he’d lost.

Well… No… That wasn’t quite true. Boxman and Carol were both enthusiastic and driven, both full of energy, just on opposite ends of the heroic spectrum. Laserblast had allowed himself to forget, sometimes, what actually made him happy about being a hero. Both of them, in different ways, reminded him.

Too bad it wasn’t enough anymore.

“Can I…” He was speaking before he’d meant to. “Can I go home with you and see K.O.?”

Carol looked up at him, blinking. “You’ve got him tomorrow.”

“I know, I just- I want to feel normal for a while.”

The worry lines on her forehead melted away. “Of course you can.”

Carol drove them the short distance to her apartment in the center of the city. Being the main caretaker for K.O., she’d thought staying at POINT headquarters would be too chaotic for giving him a normal childhood. Not to mention his habit of disappearing the moment you took your eyes off him. Laserblast had been worried that was his own fault, the first couple times, but Carol confirmed it. From the moment the kid had been mobile at all, he’d been looking for trouble.

Laserblast waiting in the car until he saw a young woman with green hair and boxing gloves leave the building. Carol’s babysitter. He hadn’t bothered to change out of uniform, and though it wasn’t a _secret_ he was the father of Carol’s son, it would cause trouble for both of them if it was common knowledge. Not to mention fending off autograph-seekers wouldn’t help him in “feeling normal” right now.

Carol had told him Judy wasn’t a fan. That didn’t exactly help.

He came in the back, jogged up the stairs, and rapped on Carol’s door – his spare key was sitting in a drawer back in his quarters at HQ – before anyone saw him. She answered it with K.O. on her hip, and Laserblast reached out for him as he entered.

“Uh-uh, helmet first,” Carol said. She jerked her head toward the shuriken stabbed into the wall to hold up coats.

“Right, right.”

Helmet set aside (and the safety turned on), Laserblast settled onto the juice-stained couch with K.O. on his lap. He was drowsing, clutching a scrap of blanket to his chest and chewing on the corner. As Carol sat down next to them she tugged the fabric out of his mouth.

“Gotta stop that, peanut,” she said softly. K.O. just yawned.

Slowly, the tension drained away. For a second he could almost imagine he was an ordinary person, with an ordinary life, with a son he loved and an ex he was friendly with.

So why didn’t it make him happy?

“Did you believe all that?” Laserblast asked softly, as K.O.’s eyes drifted shut.

“What they said?” Carol asked. “That you’re bullying that box guy?”

“Mm.”

Carol was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t want to. It doesn’t sound like you.”

“But you do?”

“You didn’t deny it. And…” Carol pressed her lips together. “I’ve seen you… go too far, before.”

Laser felt his eyebrows rise. “Well. That’s probably true.”

“Are you saying it’s not that? You’re not fake-flirting with him?”

“I…” Laserblast rubbed his forehead. “I’m…” What could he say? She wouldn’t understand, but she was probably the only person he knew that might _possibly_ side with him over P.O.I.N.T. “It’s… not what they think.”

“You said it was banter.”

“Maybe _he_ thinks it is,” Laser grumbled.

There was an even longer silence this time, Carol’s eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed, but it looked more like confusion than anything else.

“If I told you something…” He stopped. It wasn’t as though he was turning his back on P.O.I.N.T., or contemplating anything traitorous, but it still felt like a betrayal. How could he ask without making it sound even worse? “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she said immediately.

She really shouldn’t.

“They said my behavior doesn’t reflect well on the team. That’s probably true.”

“Well…”

“But it’s not because I’m making _fun_ of Boxman. He’s- he’s not conventionally attractive, and he’s ridiculous, and if I’m being honest I don’t think he _bathes_ enough.” Laserblast found himself smiling. “He’s so dumb sometimes, Sparks, honestly. I couldn’t be more obvious if I tried. I _have_ been trying. But he’s smart and he’s driven, and he’s full of so much _passion._ Fighting him feels like the first time, every time.” He took a slow breath. “And I’ve said too much, haven’t I?”

Carol was outright staring at him. “You… you’re… You’re not fake-flirting with him.”

“Not I’m not.”

“You’re _really_ flirting with him?”

“I can’t help it!” Laserblast exclaimed. K.O. grumbled in his lap, and one little fist jerked out and smacked him between the ribs. “Ow. Sorry, bud.”

“That box guy?” Carol hissed. “A _villain?_ ”

“I’m telling you I can’t help it,” Laser replied, keeping his voice low as well. “And his name is _Boxman,_ is it really so hard to remember?”

Carol pulled out her phone and typed something in. Her eyes widened, and she flipped it around to show him the screen. “ _This_ guy?”

It was Boxman. Caught apparently mid-rant, with his hair a mess and his face twisted in anger, and the skin around his eye was puffy as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

Laserblast laughed. “That’s a terrible picture, where did you find that? Can you send it to me?”

Carol lowered her phone, and Laser met her eyes. She raised it again, and against his will, Laserblast’s vision was drawn back to the screen. She lowered it and he looked at her. She raised it and he looked at the screen.

“Oh…” Carol said. “You’ve got it _bad._ ”

“I know,” Laserblast groaned. “When Greyman said it was an intervention, I really thought they’d found me out. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got caught saying something too obvious to explain.”

“You… Okay.” Carol took a breath. “Your feelings are valid. You can’t help who you develop a crush on.”

Something clenched in Laserblast’s chest. _That_ was not something he’d expected to hear upon finally confessing. “Thank you.”

“Does he, um, like you back?” The words seemed to take effort to get out. Laser couldn’t blame her, saying it out loud just drove in how _childish_ this all was.

“No,” he said. “I was telling the truth before, he doesn’t take me seriously.”

“That’s good then.”

“ _Is_ it?” Laserblast sighed.

“What would you do if he did?”

Laser looked at her, slowly raising one eyebrow. “Aside from the obvious?”

To his relief, Carol laughed. “Aside from the obvious.”

“I don’t know.” He shifted his shoulders in something approximating a shrug. “I know what I want, but I couldn’t _be_ with a villain, not really.”

“No, definitely not.”

“Yeah…”

It was impossible. No matter how much he wanted it.

“I’d better get back. Salvage what I can.” Laserblast raised K.O.’s head. “He’s really conked out. I didn’t think nap time was this early.”

“It’s not, normally. I haven’t needed a babysitter in a while and he was so excited to see Judy I guess he tired himself out.” Carol scooped him up out of Laser’s arms. “Off to bed, peanut.”

Laserblast followed her down the hall, waiting in the doorway as Carol tucked K.O. in. “He’s never that excited to see _me._ ”

“He sees you all the time! That’s a _good_ thing, Laser.”

Carol shut the door carefully behind her, and when she headed back to the living room she went toward the door instead of the couch. Laser had said he should go, and she was making it clear she agreed.

“Listen,” he said as she handed him his helmet. “Don’t- It probably goes without saying, but you won’t tell anyone about this, right?”

“Of _course_ not.” Carol hesitated. “I understand you can’t help it, crushes are just a thing that happens. But even if he’s not much of a threat, he’s still a villain. You won’t… do anything stupid, will you?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want to see _anyone_ get hurt.”

Laserblast chuckled. As he plucked the helmet from her hands, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “You were always too good for me, Sparks.”

“Yeah…” Carol glanced back, at her phone lying on the couch, still displaying that awful picture of Boxman. “I’m starting to think that might literally be true.”

Laserblast didn’t disagree.


End file.
